Bluebelle and Bess
by Teacher Bear
Summary: Life in the 1930's isn't an easy one. With the Dust Bowl ravaging the Midwest and floods punishing the Northeast, it's suprising to see the start of two fuzzy little lives springing up. This is part 1 of a rewrite of Bluebelle, The Teacher's Bear.


**Bluebelle and Bess**

Chapter 1: Storms of Fate

The Great Depression had struck the United States like a destructive storm, leaving in its path a colossal amount of personal damage. Many people suffered great loss to their money, their homes, their values, and in some sad cases even their lives. While many turned to crime and bootlegging to feed themselves, other lived as honestly as they could in the slums that were once their neighborhoods. As the depression dragged on, several people adjusted to more frugal lifestyles in order to better the lives of themselves and their families. Even into the year 1933, people continued to live with a stingy frame of mind in order to survive despite the economy showing signs of improvement.

As the nation continued to live in economic doubt and dismay, nature continued on as obliviously as it always did. Even as the dust storms continued to ravage the area known as the Dust Bowl, nature in the upper northeast suffered from too much rain. It seemed like Mother Nature was having a hard time deciding what to do with the nation and in her confusion let everyone suffer.

There had been a surprisingly massive amount of rain fall in the Mid-Atlantic regions during the summer and flash flooding had been a problem in the state of Pennsylvania, especially in and around the Philadelphia area. The flooding had been especially harsh in the rural forests where creeks and lakes were already well over their banks.

The local Philadelphia caves were not immune to the overflowing waters, and several of them had begun to flood with water. Local animals had either fled their caves or made due with their wet homes, hoping that the water would recede. On one of the many wet and rainy days in June that year, a family of bears began to feel the urge to leave what little dryness was left of their cave home.

Two adult bears held onto their frightened cub as the water rose steadily. The little female cub climbed fearfully onto her mother's back as she watched the water cover her parent's feet. She hung on tightly to her mother, hollering fearfully as the father bear carefully began to walk away from his mate and cub to see if they could make an escape from the cave. He knew that if they stayed where they were any longer, they would run the risk of drowning.

The father bear carefully made his way toward the mouth of the cave, testing the chilly waters to see if they were safe for his mate and cub to pass through to make their escape. Though there was a slight current, he could see that it was both possible and fairly safe for his mate and cub to get out alive. Calling over to his mate, he demonstrated that the waters were calm enough for them to get out of the cave without many problems.

To help calm his mate, the father bear went up to the mother bear and walked beside her as she gingerly walked out of the cave with their cub on her back. The cub squealed fearfully as water splashed up against her, digging her claws into her mother's neck in a vain attempt to keep herself dry. The father bear gently nudged his cub in the head, licking her face to calm the little one down. The pacifying attempts of the father bear seemed to be working as the cub licked her father back, continuing showing her dismay by whimpering at her father as the waters continued to splash on her.

The sky was dark and drizzly as the bear family emerged from the waters that were consuming their cave. They looked back sadly as they watched water swarm around the mouth of their home, wondering if they would ever be able to return to the cave that normally sheltered them. The sound of thunder rumbled gently overhead, reminding them that time was of the essence. They would need to find a substantial place to stay for the night in order to safely get through another oncoming summer storm.

The family quickly searched around the area for a few minutes with no luck. As the mother bear looked suggestively through a small hole in a hollow tree, the storm clouds looming above them broke open. The father bear let out a loud roar of frustration as the rain fell heavily upon him and his family. He looked around at his surroundings, hoping to find a quick solution to his problem. The mother bear hollered about the hollow tree, trying with all her strength to open the hole in the tree wider so that she and the cub could crawl inside. As she worked at the hole, the tree began to give and fell down upon its own weight.

Seeing a few strong old trees, the father bear began trying to climb into one of them. He figured that the best thing for his family at this point was to climb into one of the nearby trees for shelter. He figured that in spite of being rained on, at least they would be up off the ground, alleviating the worry of being swept away by the reoccurring flash flooding.

Just as he began explaining his decision to his family, a bolt of lightning struck one of the trees. The bear family looked at the damaged tree in horror. The mother bear turned to her mate and hollered at him in an attempt to see if he had any better ideas for shelter, preferably ones that would not hold the risk of electrocution, but the father bear stood dazed in shock at the sight of the freshly damaged tree. Only the cries of his daughter brought him back to reality of the situation. He knew for the sake of his family that he had to find some kind of shelter before things would get worse.

In the distance, the father bear noticed what looked like an old house that rose above the trees. He ran toward it, and in a matter of minutes he saw that it was a rickety old ranger's station propped up on stilts. He knew that if he and his family could get into it that they would at least be up off the ground and not have another scare like that of the lightening stricken tree. By this time, the rain was falling very heavily and they were standing in ankle deep water. With his daughter in one arm, he, his mate, and his infant cub had made their way into the station to get out of the rain.

The interior of the ranger station was not much better than the outside. The roof had leaks and it was damp and moldy inside, plus the fact that they were not the only creatures that figured the old rangers station was a good shelter, making it rather cramped. Despite these setbacks, they were grateful that they had found a place out of the rain.

Little did they know that a flood levy near by had just broken from the heavy flood waters and that a powerful wall of water was heading their way…

*****

Times were hard for those who had put their trust in the Midwest after the stock market crashed, particularly for farmers. Several people rushed out to the Great Plains, hoping to rekindle their finances after the nation had been struck down by the Great Depression. It had only seemed like yesterday when people had thought that rain would follow their plows in the plains. Now the ground ached for water as it cracked under the baking sun.

The soil that people quickly bought up was so dry that it had begun to blow away as nothing more than dust. The dust and dirt that blew up into the air mixed into the clouds, giving whatever rain that fell onto the plains a dirty look and taste. It was these heavy dust storms that gave this area the nickname of the Dust Bowl.

President Roosevelt had tried to pick up peoples crippled spirits with his Soil Conservation Service, but in the two years that it had been in effect it could only do so much. In the mean time, several families had been driven from their land by foreclosure, and those who still had a hold on their land watched as their children left home in droves for the city in attempts to find work, leaving their parents behind to tend to their dying homesteads.

Due to the tightly held finances of the Kansas locals, entertainments were few and far between. Since the dawning of the radio, people preferred the free entertainment that wafted over the airwaves instead of perusing costly family outings. Radio had reached a golden age, an age when other entertainments suffered by comparison due to how cheap it was to hear a radio play if someone was fortunate enough to one. The radio was taking its toll on the circus industry, especially those who tried to sell their affairs in and around the Dust Bowl area.

The circus workers of Dorkin Circus found passing through Kansas to be depressing, even from the shaky comfort of their circus train. They knew that there was to be no business to be had in the dust coated state. Larry Dorkin, owner of Dorkin Circus, and his workers sat back in their train seats, watching the winds kick up another a-typical dust storm outside their windows.

In a matter of minutes, the surroundings disappeared into clouds of dust and loose soil. Mr. Dorkin and his men turned their eyes away from the blankness outside, deciding to get some sleep until the storm blew over. The workers thought little of the animals that their train was carrying as they lay down in their cots. After all, they were uncomfortable enough as it was, so why think bother thinking about anything else when one had a moment to rest one's eyes.

Despite how uncomfortable the circus workers were, the animals of Dorkin Circus were no where near as comfortable as their keepers. Though their train cars had been boarded up to keep out the dust, the efforts were poorly executed. The winds brought in plenty of dirt and dust which blew freely about in an almost fine powder throughout their compartments, causing several of the animals to sneeze, hack, and cough.

Toward the back of the convoy of train cars, a performing bear huddled in the hay of her compartment in order to comfort herself. Inside her car, a large poster was plastered, featuring the words "Bobo and Brandy, Dorkin Circus's Dancing Bears!" The bear looked fondly at the poster, letting a tear escape from her eyes as she thought about her late mate. He had died a few weeks earlier from lung damage cause by breathing in too much of the dusty air. She was now concerned over her own safely, especially since she had been coughing up blood over the past week just like her mate did before he died. The bear was particularly concerned over her condition since she and her late mate were expecting their first cub.

Brandy held her paw over her muzzle as she began to cough again, leaving small puddles of blood on her bed of hay. She whipped dust that had caked onto her nose off with her paw, hoping that the gesture would help her breath easier. Though it did no good, Brandy continued to nuzzle her face into her hay bed, hoping that this would better protect her airways from the dust that was effecting her breathing so much.

The wind continued to blow outside, shaking the train cars on the tracks. The conductor called into his communication pipe that he wanted to slow down the train for fear of derailment. Dorkin picked up his end of the pipe and told the conductor to keep going. They had a show to do in Texas the next day, and he couldn't afford to be late. "Yes Mr. Dorkin," was all the conductor could say as he let the car continue to roll, adding in his own silent prayers as he fed more coal into the steam engine.

The wind blew strong as the Dorkin Circus train continued its ambitious journey. Animals wailed in fear as the train continued its reckless, shaky speeds. The conductor pushed the train onward against his better judgment, doing all he could to keep it on the tracks. Despite his most careful attempts, he did not see the approaching curve in the tracks due to the heavy dust in the air.

The combination of the wind and the direction of the tracks caused the train cars to blow over. The cars fell helplessly onto the ground, a few of them cracking open like eggs. Brandy desperately held onto the wooden walls of her train car for dear life as it came crashing to the ground, breaking in half upon impact. The pregnant bear bellowed out in pain as she collided with part of the ground. The stress of the fall had broken her embryonic waters, causing her to go into labor.

Brandy knew she had to get someplace safe so that she could deliver her cub. She knew that Dorkin and his band of incompetent men would do little to help, at least not anything that would benefit her in the long run. They would be more concerned about her cub making them a profit rather than keeping both of them healthy and happy. She could hear Dorkin and his men scurrying about, and knew that if she didn't get out now, she would not have a safe delivery of her cub.

Taking a leap of faith, Brandy went barreling into the dust storm hoping to find shelter. She could barely see where he was going, but she could hear what was going on behind her. She could hear Dorkin's men shouting as they shined flashlights into the dusty night, assessing their damages. One of the men shined his light upon Brandy and hollered for the others to grab ropes to catch her.

The men ran as fast as they could, carrying ropes and flashlights to get the bear that they needed for their show. Brandy fought the men, scratching and biting them in an attempt to save herself. After nearly killing one of the men, another man took out his gun and began to shoot at her. Three of the bullets rang out into the night, and Brandy screamed in fear and pain as one of the bullets struck her in the shoulder. In a painful panic she slashed at her shooter. The rest of the men backed away from the panicked bear as the shooter fell dead on the ground after being mauled by the bear.

Brandy ran away fearfully as the men began to regain her composure. She was hoping to lose the men in the storm, but didn't look back to see if they were following her. All she thought about was finding shelter so that she could deliver her cub. It was getting harder and harder to run and even harder to breath as she continued her desperate dash to safely. She could feel her body heaving in labor, and the pain and panic of a bullet lodged in her shoulder made her terrified. Several thoughts whizzed around in her head, but her thoughts stopped as soon as she ran head first into something.

Getting her bearings strait, she noticed that it was a wooden building. She began to feel around the building, hoping to find some sort of opening that she could go through. The opening she was hoping for was covered by a sheet that had been nailed to the wall. Using her claws, she was easily able to tear through the sheet.

After a tight and painful squeeze, Brandy emerged inside of a barn. The cows in the barn stared at her fearfully, braying dumbly at the creature that had entered their barn. Brandy roared back at them, but was too weak to pursue attacking them. She allowed her labor pains to take control of her body, and she collapsed into the hay to finish giving birth.

Brandy's breathing labored on for hours, finally resulting in the cub entering the world. The cows continued to bellow in fear as the cub began to move. Brandy wheezed heavily as she licked the cub, trying her best to clean it. The cub nuzzled her mother, feeding off of her mother's milk. Brandy barely had the strength to care for her cub, but held it lovingly close to let it finish its first meal.

As the cub began to settle, Brandy found it harder and harder to breath. She began coughing up blood again, leaving puddles of red in the floor of the barn. She could feel her lungs ache with all the dust that she had inhaled over her years of travel, and each deep breath made the bullet wound in her shoulder throb. She looked fondly at the cub she had just given birth to, envying its serenity as it lay sleeping peacefully beside her. She let out a few more labored breaths as she snuggled as comfortably as she could down next to her cub, hoping that her ill breathing would not awaken it.

*****

The ranger station continued to fill as more desperate animals claimed it as their sanctuary. The bear family decided to make the best of their steadily crowding shelter, using their place on the food chain to get the best that the shelter could offer. The mother bear found a corner of the station that was somewhat dry to rest in. The other animals, in fear of being a snack for the bears, let them have free range of the station. They did not realize that the bears were too tired to even consider hunting, but the bears used this fear to their advantage.

Just as the bears were starting to get somewhat comfortable, they felt the station begin to jerk. They could hear water raging below them, which sent some of the animals into a frenzy. The panicked movement within the station caused the building to sway unstably on its stilts. Before they knew it, the bears could feel the stilts give from a combination of the hysterical animals movements and the raging waters below. The stilts gave a loud CRACK and the building came crashing into the flood waters.

Upon impact, the old ranger station broke into pieces. The mother bear broke her back in the fall, impairing her from swimming to safety. Despite her best efforts to stay afloat, she was soon drawn under by the current and drowned. Some of the other animals met the same fate as the mother bear, while other lucky ones floated away on bits of the old ranger station that could hold their weight.

The bear cub had grabbed onto a young tree in an attempt to stay afloat. The little tree's roots were beginning to weaken under the cub's weight and the strength of the current. The baby bear began to cry out for the help of her parents, but was muffled by the choking waters that surrounded her.

Her father heard her muffled cries and began trying to think of a way to save her. As luck would have it, a log was near enough for the father bear to grab on to and take to his daughter. He knew that the log was too small for him, but it was just perfect for the infant cub.

Once the cub had safely boarded onto the log, the father bear found that his own strength was waning. He began to swim around in a vain attempt to find something to support his weight, but his exhaustion began to get the better of him. Unable to find something to float on, he sadly watched his daughter float away from him, calling out to her as the current took her away. His strength gone, his heavy body was drawn under by the current to join his mate.

The cub was having a hard time taking in what she had seen and experienced. In what seemed like an instant, she had lost both of her parents. Not knowing what else to do, she began to cry over the loss of her mother and father as well as for her overwhelming feeling of loneliness.

Little did she know, her cries were heard by two strange floating creatures hovering close by. The two creatures, one in the shape of a heart and the other in the shape of a star, cautiously approached the emotional cub, gently doing what they could to help keep her afloat. The cub didn't even notice them as she continued to cry.

The heart shaped creature held onto the cub's backside, keeping her from sliding off the log. The star shaped creature held onto the cub's head, using its star dust to help the cub relax. Within a matter of minutes, the cub was asleep due to a combination of emotional exhaustion and star dust, allowing the two creatures to better hold her.

The star and heart creatures squeaked at each other, communicating to each other that they needed to get the cub someplace safe. While making an effort to save her, they didn't realize that the stardust was starting to have an effect on the cub's body. The cub's fur and nose seemed to soak up the deep blue color of the water, its muzzle and paw pads taking a lighter color of blue. Its body began to change its shape, becoming more human like to better accommodate holding onto the log. As the star and heart began to bring the floating cub to the shore, they heard it begin to gurgle much like a human baby.

As soon as the cub was safely placed on the shore, the star and heart creatures laboriously lifted her off the log and laid her up against a large tree root protruding out of the ground. While taking a much needed rest, they watched happily as the cub snuggled against the root. Together, the star and heart felt confused about the bear cub's sudden change in appearance. There was something strange and comforting about the creature that lay before them.

Despite how much they enjoyed watching the cub sleep, the star and heart creatures knew that they had to leave. Before leaving, the star glowed one last time to cover the cub in dust. The heart gave the cub a little pat on the butt for luck, leaving behind a small, red heart imprint.

Chapter 2: I Can't Give You Anything But Love

It was another dust covered morning in Deerhead, Kansas, the likes of which were becoming fairly routine these days. The local mailman kept his nose and mouth covered over with a handkerchief as he drove his mail truck from one dilapidated farm to the next. In the dim light of morning stood one of the shabby looking farms bearing a mailbox with the name "MacCarthy" written on the side of it. On the porch of the MacCarthy house stood an old woman who was sweeping heaps of brown dust off of her front porch.

The mailman gave the old woman a friendly wave as he got out of his truck. "Mornin' Grandma Mavis," he said as he stepped out of his truck to grab the old woman's mail. The old woman set down her broom as she went to the mailbox to retrieve her mail. "Howdy Gus," she said as she leaned against the mailbox. "Whatcha got for me today? Anything good?"

Gus the mailman smiled enthusiastically as he went to the back of his truck, lowering the handkerchief he was wearing around his face so he could better talk to his mail recipient. "Looks like you got something from your boy up north," he said as he brought out a box from the back of his truck. "Feels like something good. It sure is heavy enough."

Grandma Mavis tore open the box enthusiastically like a child on Christmas morning. "Hot digity!" she exclaimed as she pulled a milk bottle full of water out of the box. "My boy's still takin' care of me! Thank the Lord!" Gus laughed as Grandma Mavis hugged one of the milk bottles full of water. "It's the least he can do since you an' Roy are takin' care of his son while him an' his misses are up in New York workin' in that factory," the mailman explained while he helped Grandma Mavis pack the bottles back in the box. "By the way, how's Mike an' Shirley doin' up there? Any good news from Chicago?"

Grandma Mavis shrugged her shoulders coolly as she closed the box. "They say their strugglin' last I heard," she explained, sighing sadly as she thought about her son and his wife. "Last letter they wrote, Mike broke a couple a toes while packin' shipment at that milk bottlin' plant an' Shirley had to help a lady deliver a baby out on the production floor. Other than that, I suppose they're doin' okay."

Gus helped Grandma Mavis get back to her feet. "I dunno how they keep a marriage together while doin' all that work up there," he said as he handed her the box of glass water bottles. Grandma Mavis smiled absentmindedly as she held onto the box. "Dunno," she said. "All's I know is they help us keep the farm. I dunno what we'd do without 'em working up north to support the family like this." "Speaking of which," Gus said as he dug around in his mail bag, "I got some more mail for ya. Mostly bills, but it looks like you got some news from your boy." Grandma Mavis watched as Gus piled the mail on top of the box. "I sure hope its good news," she said as she looked sadly at the envelopes lying on top of the box, particularly the ones marked "passed due." "I dunno how much more bad news I can take."

Gus nodded thoughtfully as he pulled his handkerchief back over his nose and mouth before getting back into his truck. "I hate to be the bearer of more bad news, but you'd be best to keep on your toes," he said. "I heard last night about a circus train accident a mile west of here. A couple animals got out in the wreck an' they been runnin' wild. Carl an' Edna Jamison up the road said they had to gun down a big ol' gorilla snoopin' round their front window."

Grandma Mavis was shocked. "They didn't get hurt, did they?" she asked. Gus shook his head. "Nobody got hurt, but that gorilla sure was a mean sucker. Carl said it woulda killed their dog if he hadn't shot it. They got good eatin' out of that kill though. Said it tasted like salt pork if ya cook it right, an' they got plenty to spare for the rest of the week if they dry an' smoke it up good."

Grandma Mavis heaved the box onto her old hip. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out for wild animals," she said, thanking the mailman. Gus turned the key on his truck's ignition while waving to Grandma Mavis. "I wish you nothin' but the best," he said as he put his truck into drive. "Keep me updated if ya can. Tell Roy I said hello, an' give that cute little grandson of yours a pat on the back for me."

Gus's mail truck kicked up a lot of dust as it drove out of sight. While watching the mail truck disappear in the dusty cloud it left, Grandma Mavis could see storm clouds forming far off in the distance. She was hoping the clouds would pass over them, but expected to get wind gusts like they always got.

*****

The little blue colored bear cub slowly began to stir. She rubbed at her sleepy eyes as light began to touch them. She let out a big yawn as she sat up to get her bearings. At first she had thought that the events from the night before were just a bad dream and began to look around for her parents so that they could get her some breakfast. As soon as she noticed that they were nowhere to be found, she started calling out to her parents for breakfast. After about a minute, she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. As soon as she saw the log her father had used to save her life, the reality of the situation truly began to sink in. The situation of her loss had once again consumed her thoughts and she began to cry again.

The cub's cries were heard by a Dalmatian dog living near by. The Dalmatian, whose name was Freckles, had just had to have her month and a half old puppies sold by the family she lived with. The loss of her little ones had made her sink into a deep depression. Everything around her seemed to remind her of her loss of her motherhood, which her family, the Mulcahey's, had become concerned about. As soon as she heard the cries of the baby bear, she thought it was one of her puppies calling out to her. The Mulcahey family's back yard went into the woods to which the cries were coming from. With much hope in her heart, Freckles decided to take a trip to the woods to see if she had heard the cries of one of her long gone children.

Freckles was quite surprised by what she saw crying by the flooded creek. She had never seen such a peculiar creature in all her life. She wasn't sure if it was a human child in a costume or some kind of animal. All that she knew was that it had stopped crying when it saw her and looked at her in a very needy way…

Indeed, the little cub was grateful that someone had heard her desperate cries for help. She was not sure of the animal that had arrived, but she hoped that it was here to rescue her…

Freckles inched her way slowly up to the little thing to get a better sniff of what it was. All that she knew was that it was staying perfectly still…

The little cub stayed perfectly still for she did not know what to do. All that she could sense was that whatever had come seemed to have been lonely too…

Freckles looked deep into the eyes of the little thing. She could tell that it was all alone and that there was no one to take care of it…

Both the dog and the bear cub were looking at each other eye to eye. They both seemed to pick up on each others feelings. Suddenly, Freckles let out a soft whimper that seemed to encourage the cub to smile and make happy gurgling noises. Freckles licked the bear cub's face happily which made the cub giggle. The cub flung her arms around the dog and began to gurgle lovingly, as though she wanted to spend more time with her. It was at that moment that Freckles decided to adopt the bear cub as her new puppy. She picked her new daughter up by the scruff of the neck and hoisted her onto her back so that she could take her home.

On the way home, the cub giggled and gurgled happily. This made Freckles heart melt in a very maternal way. Freckles was beginning to feel that the little one on her back had somehow filled the maternal gap in her heart that had been a void since her puppies had been taken away. She began bouncing the little cub on her back in a playful way that made the cub giggle even more.

It was in the middle of their game of horsy in the edge of the woods that she remembered the Mulcahey family that she lived with. A serge of fear struck into her heart at the thought of her new puppy/bear being sold like the rest of her children. Freckles decided then and there that the bear cub was to stay with her in her dog house. She was afraid to let her daughter out into the yard for fear that her human family might mistake her for a puppy they forgot to sell. She was determined to not lose another child, even if she had to go to drastic measures.

The rest of the way back to the dog house was not as fun filled as it had been before. Freckles feared that the cub's laughter would stir up the suspicions of the Mulcahey's. Despite the cub's best efforts to have fun, Freckles could not shake her feelings of fear. She did what she could to quickly calm the cub down so that it wouldn't want to make too much noise. Upon reaching the edge of the yard, Freckles placed the cub down on the ground and explained as best she could for her daughter to not go anywhere. The cub could tell by her new mother's body language that she was to stay put and did just that to try to please her. With that, Freckles scouted the perimeter to see if there was someone who would give away the fact that she had adopted a new child. As soon as she saw that the coast was clear, she picked the cub up by the scruff of the neck and brought her to the dog house.

Freckles breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she got her daughter safely to the dog house without being seen. The cub seemed quite pleased with her new home and was too tired and hungry to object to her new mother's peculiar request of not going outside. She figured that she had had enough adventures for one day, and she was just ready for something to eat and a good nap.

At the thought of food, the cub's stomach began to growl loudly. Freckles knew that she had to find the child something to eat soon before she got fussy and started to make noise. She then remembered that she hadn't touched the scraps left over from this morning's breakfast, and that they were still sitting in her bowl. After giving the cub a stern warning, she dashed out of the dog house and into the Mulcahey's house through the doggie door.

Judging from the scraps that had been left that morning, she could tell that it was Sunday and that the family had left for church. The family usually ate bacon on Sundays before going off to church, which was one of Freckles favorite foods. Freckles also noticed that the family had eaten pancakes with lots of syrup and butter, which smelled heavenly combined with the scent of bacon. She figured that this was the perfect time to feed her new puppy/bear. She grabbed the bowl in her teeth and carefully took it outside to her hungry daughter.

The cub gobbled most of it up very graciously. Freckles could see that the cub was making a mess, but she was more than happy to clean it up. She loved how cute her new daughter looked with smudges of syrup and pancake crumbs all over her paws and face. To Freckles, this little cub was a little slice of heaven. The cub felt the same way about her new mother, and showed her appreciation by giving the dog a syrupy snuggle. In what little experiences she had in her life, she had never met anyone outside of her family that was so very giving as Freckles had been to her. She did not quite understand that this feeling was the start of trusting, but she knew that she liked it very much. The dog seemed as if she were smiling at her the whole time and that made the cub feel very comfortable and happy. After the two had eaten and Freckles had cleaned up as best she could, the two snuggled together and took a wonderful afternoon nap.

*****

Grandma Mavis kicked on the front door of the house. "Roy! Ben! Come help me!" she shouted as she continued to kick the door. "My arms are full! We got more fresh water from Mike an' Shirley!" The milk bottles in the box rattled together as she kicked the door. Though simple, the sound of the clanking bottles was enticing. Grandma Mavis couldn't wait to get a mouth full of clean water.

Before long, Grandpa Roy and little Ben opened the door. They quickly took the package from Grandma Mavis, dumping the mail on top of the box carelessly onto the floor so that they could take a look at the bottles of water. "Bless 'em!" Grandpa Roy said as he opened one of the bottles and took a big swig of water. Grandma Mavis smacked him on the shoulder to make him stop drinking. "Not so much!" she said. "That's gotta last us for a while. We don't wanna run out again before they send up more."

Grandpa Roy slowly lowered the bottle from his lips before handing it to his grandson. "I know. I know," he said, sounding more annoyed than anything while his grandson took a big swig of water from the milk bottle. "You slow down too, boy. Make it last like your grandma said."

After taking a swig for herself, Grandma Mavis put the lid on the milk bottle. "B'fore you boys go do your chores, we got a letter from Mike an' Shirley. It's over there on the floor from where y'all dumped the mail."

Ben was so excited to hear from his parents that he eagerly tore open the envelope. He barely noticed the money that fell from the note. Grandma Mavis quickly retrieved the wayward cash so that it could be put toward the bills that lay on the floor with the rest of the mail. "What's it say, grandma?" Ben shouted enthusiastically, excitedly holding the note in front of his grandmother's face. Grandma Mavis took the letter before her grandson gave her a paper cut on the face. "Calm yerself boy. Lemme read it. 'Dear Mom, Dad, and Ben,'" she read. "I hope y'all are doin' well. Me an' Shirly have been mighty busy, an' we're awful sorry for writin' to you so late. I been moved to a later shift in shipment, so Shirley an' me have shifts together. It's been awful nice seein' Shirley more often thanks to the different shift. We been seein' so much of each other that Shirley's pregnant again."

While most people would be thrilled by the news of a new baby, Grandpa Roy simply looked saddened. He knew that Mike and Shirley would be coming down from Chicago with the new baby shortly after its birth so that they could leave it with them while they returned to working in the milk bottling plant. Though he dearly loved children, he knew Ben and this new baby belonged with his son and not with their grandparents.

Not noticing her husband, Grandma Mavis looked rather delighted over the prospect of the new baby. "Well whatda know, boy. You'll be havin' a little brother or sister to play with pretty soon. Whacha think of that?" Ben fed off of his grandmother's excitement. "I can't wait to see mom an' dad again," he said, smiling broadly. "We'll take good care of that baby, won't we grandpa? We can teach that there baby how to rope cow an' play with marbles an' spit long distance, an' you an' me can tell it bedtime stories together."

Grandpa Roy ruffled his grandson's dirty blonde hair. "Let yer grandma finish readin' the letter," he said, trying to mask his emotions. It wasn't that he wasn't excited to meet the new baby. He was just worried thinking about how he was going to feed it.

Grandma Mavis skimmed over the letter to see where she left off. "We'll be stoppin' by soon as the baby's born. Should be sometime next year. Mean time, wish us luck. It'll be tough workin' with Shirley expectin'. I hope that money we sent ya helps pay off the bills. I know things are tight with everythin' on the farm an' all, but we'll keep sendin' what we can. Keep us updated on what's goin' on out there. We really miss y'all. Love, Mike."

Grandma Mavis sighed happily as she thought about her son. She hadn't seen him in over a year, and the idea of her family growing made her happy. She wished that the family could all be together, especially with the new baby on the way. She couldn't imagine what it was like having to live so far away from your child, but she was happy to know that at least he was with family. "A'right, enough treats for one day," she said as she folded the letter. "I need you boys to go check out that train wreck out there by the tracks. Might be somethin' useful down there."

Grandpa Roy rolled his eyes at his wife. "Woman, what are you goin' on about?" he exclaimed. "We got more important things to be doin' than nosing around the tracks lookin' for gossip." Grandma Mavis gave her husband a stern look. "There was a train crash last night. If you an' Ben can find some scrap wood from the crash, we can use it to patch up the hole in the barn. That old sheet we got up ain't doin' the trick no more, and those cows are lookin' sicker every day."

He hated to admit it, but his wife was right. The hole in the barn was being covered by a thread bare sheet that was nailed to the wall, and the wind had already torn it in several places. Despite Grandma Mavis's many attempts to sew up the holes, the sheet had seen too many wind storms to be considered useful anymore. "A'right," he said. "Me an' Ben'll check up on that after we go see if the hens gave us some eggs for breakfast." Grandma Mavis smiled appreciatively. "Why don't you two go check on the barn while you're out gettin' the eggs. Gus said there's wild animals runnin' around from the circus and I don't want 'em goin' in after the cows."

Grandpa Roy raised his eyebrow skeptically. "Circus critters?" he asked in amused disbelief. "I don't believe it. That blasted mailman's always comin' up with crazy stories. He must be hittin' up on some packages full of funny business if ya ask me." Grandma Mavis rolled her eyes. "Whether he is or not, I still want you keepin' an eye out for anything goin' on. He said the Jamison's had to kill a gorilla. Now get out there an' check on the cows before it starts gettin' gusty again. Hopefully those cows'll have some milk for us this time."

Ben and Grandpa Roy walked out into the hot, dry day to do their chores, leaving Grandma Mavis to take care of the house work. Ben ran quickly out onto the porch while his grandfather slowly limped after him. "Come on, Grandpa! Come quick!" he shouted from the porch. "One'a the cows got out!"

Grandpa Roy stepped out onto the porch and saw the cow dumbly meandering around. "Ah hell," he mumbled. "Who opened up the barn! Those damn fool cows'll follow behind each other an' run all over the damn place. Ben, grab a rope an' try to tie up that cow. I'll get the door."

Doing as he was instructed, Ben ran as fast as his little legs could move after the wayward cow. With a little bit of luck, Ben was able to get a loop around the frightened bovine's neck. "I got 'er Grandpa!" Ben shouted as he yanked on the rope around the cow's neck. "Can ya help me bring 'er to the barn? She's heavy an' awful spooked!"

Grandpa Roy was surprised to see that the door to the barn was still securely closed. He thought about how the cow could have gotten out of the barn, but didn't have time to dwell on it as he heard his grandson calling for him. "Ada boy!" he shouted as he limped over as quickly as he could so that he could grab onto the rope. Despite his age and his bum leg, the old man was relatively strong. "Give 'er a good kick in the behind! That'll send 'er where she's gotta go." Grandpa Roy instructed while yanking on the rope. Ben did as he was told, making the cow want to run toward the barn.

The cow bellowed loudly as the men lead it into the barn. The cow continued to protest as the two men lead it to its stall. As Ben went to tie the rope to a peg, something caught his attention. "Grandpa! Look! It's a sleepin' bear!" he shouted, dropping the cow's rope. Grandpa Roy couldn't believe his eyes. "My God!" he shouted, grabbing his grandson in fear. "Quick! Get my shotgun!"

Ben ran as fast as he could to the house and flung open the door. "Grandma! Come quick! Grab the shotgun!" he shouted, running up to his grandmother to yank on her apron. Grandma Mavis smoothed down her grandson's hair to try calming him down. "Slow down little darlin'," she said affectionately. "What's goin' on? You look like you got the wind knocked out of ya."

Ben took a few quick gulps of air while still tugging on his grandmother's apron. "There's a bear sleepin' in the barn!" he shouted, pointing out the door. "Grandpa told me to grab the shotgun so we can kill it! We gotta hurry before it wakes up!" Grandma Mavis quickly dropped the bills she was starting to budget out on the kitchen table. "I knew it," she said as she quickly went for the shotgun. "I told yer grandpa there was wild animals runnin' about."

Ben ran out to the patio with Grandma Mavis followed close behind with the shotgun. The young boy was half expecting the bear to be awake by now and very angry, but was surprised to see that it was still lying where it was when he opened the barn door. He wasn't surprised to see Grandpa Roy plastered against the wall, looking terrified. Grandpa Roy held his hand out slowly to accept the gun. "Took ya long enough," he grumbled as he slowly pointed the gun at the bear.

Grandpa Roy gingerly walked up to the bear, Ben and Grandma Mavis staying put at the door. Grandpa Roy lightly tapped the bear on the back with the end of his gun, seeing if his touch would wake it up. After a few harder pokes in the back with his gun, Grandpa Roy placed his hand up against the bear's back. "It's dead," he said with a big smile as he pressed down hard on the bear's back. "We'll eat good tonight!"

Feeling much more at ease, Ben and Grandma Mavis went up to the dead bear to take a look at it. While they looked at their prize, they noticed a grey little creature lying next to the dead bear's stomach, curled up and sleeping with its thumb in its mouth. Ben knelt down to get a better look at the grey little thing, noticing that it looked a lot like a teddy bear.

Grandpa Roy hobbled over to the creature and looked down in disbelief at what he saw. "What in the name of sweet Fanny Adams is that?" he said, leaning in to take a closer look. Ben shrugged his shoulders as he took a closer look. "Looks like a livin' toy. It's breathin' and everythin'," he replied, poking the little creature in the ribs.

As soon as Ben began poking the little grey creature, it began to stir uncomfortably. Slowly, the bear like creature opened it eyes sleepily to see what had disrupted its slumber. Grandma Mavis smiled at the little cub as it looked at her and the boys. The cub stared at its onlookers, reaching out a paw to them so that it could get a better understanding of them. The two men screamed as it reached for them, which made the creature begin crying loudly with fear.

Grandpa Roy fearfully fumbled to hold his gun up, preparing to shoot at it with his shaky hands. Grandma Mavis rushed over to the crying creature before her husband could shoot it. "Don't shoot, ya trigger happy fool!" she exclaimed, taking off her apron so that she could wrap the little creature up and keep it safe. "No wonder it's bellowin' like a banshee. You two lug heads scared the dickins out of it with your hollerin'. I'm takin' it inside while you two tie up the cows. An' don't take too long! It'll be getting' bad out there before ya know it."

Grandpa Roy looked at his wife with agitation. "What in tarnation are you doin' with that thing woman!" he hollered. Grandma Mavis held the creature tenderly, helping to calm it down. "Ease up now, Roy," she said calmly, holding the cub protectively as its cries died down. "You don't know what it is. It don't look like a normal bear. Bear's don't cry like babies."

Grandpa Roy let out a long, defeated sigh as he lowered his gun. "Woman, that thing's gonna tear you apart," he grunted. Grandma Mavis smiled mischievously. "I'll chance it," she said. "If you're right, I'll have the marks to prove it."

Chapter 3: What Makes a Family

After the breakfast nap, the bear cub began to stir about in want for going outside to play. She nudged her snoozing mother dog and pointed to the outside, but her mother acted in a way that refused it. The cub began to whimper in protest, all the while trying to get her way. Freckles licked the cub's face in a vain attempt to stop the fussing. Despite her worrying, Freckles knew that she could not keep the cub inside the dog house all day in spite of her paranoia. Luckily, Freckles could tell when the family left for somewhere by the sound of the door and when they were in the family room together by the sound of the radio, so she figured that these would be the ideal times to take her daughter back down into the edge of the woods to play. In the mean time, she would have to find a way to pacify her daughter.

The cub's fussy cries persisted despite Freckles vain attempts to distract her, so she tried having the cub play with her tail much like her puppies used to do. The cub seemed to like that for a while, but quickly lost interest. Again, the cub began to fuss. Freckles then tried to nudge her around with her head as a game, but the cub did not like that one bit. The dog was running out of ideas, and the cub's cries were beginning to get louder and louder. She knew that she had to keep the cub quiet or else she might be taken away. She had no choice but to scout around for something the cub could play with.

Freckles informed her daughter to stay put while she went looking for a toy or something to keep her occupied. She hoped that the cub would understand not leaving, but just in case decided to stay close to the dog house. The little cub seemed to calm down at the prospect of having something new to play with, which made Freckles's search easier. In a matter of minutes she saw that one of the children that lived in the house had left a baseball, a ball cap, and a glove out in the back yard. These were perfect things for the cub to play with! She quickly picked them up and brought them in the dog house.

The cub was overly delighted to see the play things. She was soon entertained and remained so for a good part of the afternoon, much to Freckles relief. Freckles figured that her cub was safe for now and relaxed a bit to play with her daughter. She found it delightful that the cub tried to wear the baseball glove as a hat. She had seen the Mulcahey boy use the glove for other purposes, but never for a hat.

Before long, Freckles could smell Mrs. Mulcahey making lunch for the children, which meant that soon she would be feeding her daughter the leftover scraps. She knew that she would have to slip through the doggie door and get the scraps to feed her little puppy/bear, so she did not let having a plan in mind did worry her as much. She figured that this would become the norm at meal time.

After she heard the radio come on, Freckles poked her head out of the doghouse. She knew that the family would now be distracted, so slipping in to grab the scraps would surely be a simple chore. She motioned to the cub to stay put, hoping the toys would be a good enough reason to keep the cub in place. After a stern convincing, Freckles made her move for the doggie door.

Freckles slowly stuck her nose in first, sniffing at the air to see if anyone was around. She could smell grilled cheese and tomato soup, and the strong scent of flowery dish soap. She gingerly stuck her head in to see if the coast was clear. As soon as she did, she heard a voice. "Freckles! There you are!" came the cheerful voice of Mrs. Mulcahey, the matron of the house.

Freckles panicked and began to growl, but Mrs. Mulcahey continued to look cheerful. After drying her hand on a dish towel, Mrs. Mulcahey reached into a counter top jar and pulled out a dog biscuit. "Here girl," she said sweetly as she held up the treat to her dog. "It's alright. I just want to give you a treat. I haven't seen much of you lately, and I've missed you."

The dog and the woman exchanged looks for a long time. As Freckles accepted the dog biscuit, she continued to stare at her master, never taking her eyes off of her. Mrs. Mulcahey was happy that the dog accepted the treat, but found it odd that Freckles put the dog biscuit in her bowl. "Don't you want it?" Mrs. Mulcahey asked, feeling a bit offended. Freckles just looked at her suspiciously as she lifted her dog bowl up in her teeth. Mrs. Mulcahey watched her dog as she walked to the doggie door with the bowl in her teeth, all the while Freckles wouldn't take her eyes off of her owner. After an awkward moment of exchanging looks, Freckles had popped out the doggie door.

*****

Ben was having fun over by the tracks as he and his grandfather worked on collecting bits of the train to bring home. In between finding useful pieces, the young boy enjoyed pretending that the metal tracks were tight ropes. His grandfather teased him about his antics, all the while telling him stories of circuses and acrobats and jugglers he had once had the privilege of seeing as a youngster.

In between stories and playing make believe, Ben was delighted to find a piece of the train wall containing a large poster with two dancing bears on it. "Do ya think this is the bear we found in the barn?" he asked as he brushed dirt from the piece of wood to better reveal the poster. Grandpa Roy glanced at the poster as he piled more scrap wood on top of it. "Don't know," he said, shrugging as he hefted a few more pieces of wood onto the poster. "Let's just hope your crazy grandma's not been torn to shreds by that weird critter by the time we get back."

If only Grandpa Roy could see his wife at the moment. She was delighted, smiling wider than she had in quite a while. The cub giggled and gurgled with glee as the old woman danced around the room with the cub in her arms, singing "My Blue Heaven" to the happy little cub. "Just turn to the right, There's a little white light, Will lead you to my blue heaven," she sang aloud nuzzling her face into the creature's head fur.

As she held the cub close, she could not help catching a rather odious whiff from the cub's fur. "Whooooo doggie!" she said over dramatically, making the cub laugh. "What did you get yerself into in that barn? You smell to high blue heaven." The cub liked how Grandma Mavis sang the last part of her sentence, but despite the happy singing, the old woman was concerned about how she was going to get the cub clean. Clean water was a precious commodity around her parts, and sometimes the water pumps hardly gave any water at all.

Grandma Mavis brought out a large bowl and set it under the old water pump in the yard, praying that something might come out. Every so often they got lucky, and even when they did get lucky the water would come out as more of an earthy liquid than anything anyone would have wanted to drink. Grandma Mavis knew she couldn't be picky as she worked the pump. She just knew that she needed to be lucky.

She set the cub in the bowl beneath the water pump and smiled enthusiastically as she started pumping. "Gee I'd like to see you lookin' swell, my little baby," she sang, singing a bit from the song "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" as she worked the pumps. She hoped the song would comfort the cub and lift her spirits as she lifted and lowered the handle.

After a few minutes of hopeful singing and vain pumping, Grandma Mavis discovered that luck was not on her side. Her efforts were all for nothing. Not a drop could be found. She let out a defeated sigh as she picked the cub up from the bowl. "Ah, hell," she said in a subjugated tone, all the while looking around for a solution as she walked back in the house.

As she scanned the room for an idea, she noticed the box of milk bottles full of water. She got an ill feeling in the pit of her stomach as the temptation to use the water came to mind. What would the family think after she had been on their cases about not wasting the water?

The cub looked up at Grandma Mavis, surprised to see her looking so still after having just seen her dancing and singing. The cub gurgled as she tugged at the tattered collar on Grandma Mavis's dress, hoping to get a suitable reaction from the old woman. Letting out another defeated sigh, Grandma Mavis smiled down at the cub. "I guess we can use a little water," she said, smiling in spite of her doubts. "Don't go using it all up though. We gotta be fair to the boys."

In order to better measure the water usage, Grandma Mavis brought out the bowl again along a withered old sponge. She slowly poured the water into the bowl so as not to accidentally spill any of it. The sponge seemed to drink up all the water in the bowl the moment Grandma Mavis set it in the water. Knowing that the sponge required just a little bit more water, Grandma Mavis bit the bullet and poured more water on.

Once the meager bath was ready, Grandma Mavis set the little cub in the bowl. The cub took to the shallow bath surprisingly well, allowing Grandma Mavis to wipe at her with the sponge. Seeing the cub looking happy helped lift Grandma Mavis's spirits and she began to sing again.

All singing ended the moment the boys returned home. "What in great God's grace are you doin' woman!" Grandpa Roy shouted, dropping his end of the train part hauling. He made a mad hobbling dash for the bottle, hollering all the while about how it should be used. Grandma Mavis lifted the cub out of the bowl, her fur still damp. "I had to clean the little darlin'," she said defensively. "She was stinkin' like the barn, an' I didn't want that smell seepin' into anything."

Grandpa Roy looked at his wife in disbelief. "So what if it did!" he hollered, his tone scaring the cub into tears. "That critter'll keep stinkin' up the place no matter how ya scrub it! It's gotta go!"

Grandma Mavis held onto the little cub tightly. "How can you say that?" she said, trying to suppress sobs. "It ain't done nothing but start livin', an' it's too little to go out by itself. Besides, it makes me happy. I don't know how it does it, but it just makes me feel real happy."

Grandpa Roy was beside himself with anger. "It's a burden! A burden we can't afford to keep around," he tried to explain, hollering over the cries of his wife and the little creature. "Ain't it enough we gotta care for Ben? An' Mike an' Shirley got that little one on the way! You want that thing takin' food outta Ben an' the baby's mouth? You don't even know from where the hell it came from!"

As his grandparents argued, Ben pulled the poster off of the wood he and his grandfather had just brought in. "She came outta the circus grandpa," he said, holding the poster over his face. "I bet she's a special circus bear. Grandma found herself a special circus bear baby, an' maybe it can dance like the bears on the poster."

Gritting what teeth he still had, Grandpa Roy dismissed his grandson's interruption. "So ya found yerself a special bear baby," he said, his teeth still clinched in anger. "You ain't got whatcha need to take care of it. It'll die before ya know it livin' here."

Grandma Mavis couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She let them drop onto the little cub's head, who was still bellowing in fear of Grandpa Roy's hollering. "What do ya reckon we do than?" she said softly, still holding protectively to the tiny cub. Grandpa Roy reached for the cub, watching painfully as his wife battled with herself to give it to him. "Give 'er to me now," he said as calmly as he could.

Finally able to hand over the cub, Grandma Mavis watched in horror as her husband reached for his shotgun. "Jesus, Roy! No!" she screamed, reaching out for the cub in an attempt to save it. Grandpa Roy turned away from his wife to prevent her from doing anything. "Ben, hold back yer grandma," he said, trying to stifle any sign of emotion in his voice.

Doing as he was told, Ben grabbed his grandmother around the waist. Grandma Mavis sank emotionally into her grandson's grasp as she watched her husband hobble to the door with the cub in one arm and the shotgun in the other.

Grandpa Roy suddenly stopped right in front of the door. He turned his neck so he could just barely see his family in his peripheral vision. "Don't worry," he said, trying to sound as comforting as he could in spite of the situation. "I'll make it quick."

*****

Mrs. Mulcahey couldn't help shaking the feeling that something was up with her dog. She knew Freckles hadn't been the same since the puppies had to be taken away and sold, but there was something more peculiar about the way the dog was behaving. It was as though she had something to hide.

As much as she was stricken with curiosity, Mrs. Mulcahey knew she would have to get dinner started. She knew that while the skimpy little roast was in the oven, she would have more time to ponder. Perhaps when she went to grab a vegetable or two from the family's old Victory Garden left over from the war she would be able to spy on her dog.

As Mrs. Mulcahey worked on dinner, Freckles worked on her little puppy/bear's fussing. Despite the love and trust that the cub had established in her new mother, she was still curious to get a good look at the outside of the little dog house. She wanted to follow her new mother outside to see what she saw. She wanted to know were all the wonderful food was coming from and where the smells of the food came from. She wanted to know where her play things came from and whose they were. Freckles on the other hand forebode it. She was scared stiff about having the Mulcahey's find her little girl.

Freckles tried to explain her concerns it to her daughter as best she could, but the cub could not understand her dog language. All that the cub could understand was her mother's body language, and it read as negative to exploring outside. In spite of wanting to please her mother, the cub wanted to know what was so bad about the area outside her home and why her mother forebode it so much.

In the time she had spent in her new home, she observed that her mother tired easily and liked to take a nap whenever the opportunity arose. She figured that this would be the ideal time to go exploring. So later on that afternoon when she and her mother settled down for their nap, the cub pretended to be asleep.

Freckles laid her head down on her paws when she saw the bear cub close her eyes. The past few hours had taken quite a lot out of Freckles, so any opportunity to rest was welcome to her. Once the cub noticed the dog's head go down, she opened one eye to have a look. She saw her mother begin to dose off, so she slowly got up. She then waved her paw in front of her mother to see if she would react. Aside from a rather obnoxious sounding snore, Freckles didn't stir. As soon as the cub was sure that her mother was fast asleep, she crept outside to have a look around. Little did she know that from the house, she was going to be watched…

Having just come home from riding his bicycle, the 11 year old Mulcahey boy greeted his mother in the kitchen as he went to the sink to get a much needed glass of water. He had sweat running through his reddish brown hair, which he whipped at with a dish towel. His mother caught him in the act, and hated when her son used the dish towels for such things. "Francis," she said in a motherly tone. "How many times have I told you not to use the kitchen towels to wipe at yourself?" Francis apologized as he balled up the towel. "It's really hot out there, mom," he explained. "The radio man says its 90 degrees outside."

Just as he was about to take a sip of water from his glass, Francis noticed a small, navy blue bear looking around in his back yard. He readjusted his glasses in disbelief, thinking that he was hallucinating from the summer heat. He then thought that one of his little sister's teddy bears had come to life. He called for his sister and for his mother to come to the kitchen window to see what was going on.

"Francis, is everything alright?" his mother asked, seeing that her son was clearly spooked. He then pointed to the window and said "Look mom! There's a blue teddy bear walking around in the back yard! I think one of Katherine's teddy bears is alive!" Francis then saw his 9 year old sister giggling and became suspicious. "Are you trying to play a trick on me sis?" he then asked her. Katherine stuck out her tongue in defense. "Of course not!" she explained in a sassy, sisterly tone. "I don't even own a blue teddy bear anyway, so why are you blaming me!"

Francis was still not convinced and continued to question his sister. "Than why were you giggling?" Francis inquired, hoping to find an answer. Katherine shrugged her shoulders sweetly. "I don't know. I just thought it was funny." she replied. "Doesn't it sound silly mom?" Mrs. Mulcahey did not respond to her daughter's questioning. She just stood transfixed at the sight of the navy blue bear cub toddling around the back yard.

"Children," she said protectively, "we have to investigate this…thing before anyone gets hurt!" Katherine pressed her nose against the window to get a look at the threat. "Hurt?" she questioned. "It's so cute! How can it hurt us?" Still with her eyes on the creature in the yard, Mrs. Mulcahey slowly shook her head. "I know dear," she told her daughter, "but it could be more dangerous than meets the eye." There had been stories on the radio and in the newspaper about uncertainty going on in parts of the world, so Mrs. Mulcahey did not know what to expect. She didn't know if some foreign threat had started testing on animals.

Mrs. Mulcahey's lack of knowledge did not impair her from going outside unprepared. She grabbed her broom, put on her oven mitts, and wore one of her aprons just in case. Francis got his baseball bat and Katherine took to the mop as her weapon of choice. Mrs. Mulcahey gave her children each an apron and a pair of oven mitts so that they too would be protected.

The Mulcaheys then went outside to see what was going on and just what it was that was checking out their back yard. Mrs. Mulcahey decided to approach the little creature first just to be on the safe side. The bear cub looked at them very curiously and decided to approach the family, giggling and gurgling happily as she went. She figured that if her new mother could be approached and was trustworthy, than why not these others.

Mrs. Mulcahey, a bit iffy about the blue bear toddling up to her, apprehensively held out her arms and called to the cub softly. She figured that if something bad were to happen, she and the children were to run away. The cub happily toddled up to her and went right into the mother's arms, giving her a big hug. The cub seemed to like them very much, which set their minds at ease. It was then when the family realized that she was harmless and very cute. They decided to pick her up and play with her. The cub was pleased by this and began to giggle and gurgle very loudly.

The commotion woke Freckles from her nap. She opened her eyes and looked in horror at the sight of Mrs. Mulcahey holding her giggling daughter. Freckles barked madly and began snapping at the family in an attempt to rescue her child. She did not want to hurt her human family, but she did not want to loose the cub like she had lost her puppies.

Mrs. Mulcahey figured that Freckles thought of the cub as her adopted daughter, especially since Freckles seemed to be acting oddly that morning. She put the blue cub down on the ground and Freckles didn't hesitate to pick her up by the scruff of the neck. She rushed right back into the dog house with the cub to scold her for her misbehavior.

*****

There were several things about being the man of the house that Grandpa Roy didn't like, and killing things was one of them. He felt terrible about knowing he would have to kill this little creature, especially since it had brought his wife so much happiness in such a short time. So few things seemed to bring her joy these days, and it killed him to see her cry.

Grandpa Roy hobbled slowly over to the barn, all the while listening to his wife try to stop crying. He went behind the barn to help stifle the horrible sadness he heard wafting from the open door of the house. He didn't want the sounds of his wife distracting him from what he had to do.

Gently, he set the cub down on the ground up against the barn. She had started to calm down during the walk to the barn, and she looked up to him in an almost longing way. She let out a gentle coo as she was set down, which Grandpa Roy found darling in spite of himself. He had to turn his eyes away from the little cub as it reached up for him.

His wife was right. She did act a lot like a child, a thought which disturbed him. Though he didn't like killing animals, he had never killed a person before. The creature he had just set on the ground acted so much like a baby that he could barely think strait.

Grandpa Roy hobbled away from the cub so that he could get a good shot at it without watching its behavior. After walking a few yards away from his target, he turned around to get aim at it. As he slowly held up his shotgun, he noticed the cub blissfully playing with her toes. She was completely oblivious to the fate that lay at the end of Grandpa Roy's shotgun.

The gun shook in Grandpa Roy's hands. He closed one eye to better aim at the cub. He rested his finger against the trigger, and readied himself to pull. His whole body tensed in preparation for the shot.

In spite of his body's preparation, he just couldn't find it in his heart to pull the trigger. He knew in his practical mind that the creature was just a weird looking bear and nothing more than a burden to the family, but all he could see at the end of the barrel was the sweet, unoffending life of an innocent child.

"Damn," he said to himself as he quickly lowered his gun. "What's the deal with you? What the hell are ya, an' why the devil can't I shoot ya?" He looked at the cub as if waiting for an answer, but all it did was suck its thumb and smile back at him. Grandpa Roy sighed deeply to calm his nerves. He could feel moisture forming around his eyes, and did everything he could to stop it. Men didn't cry, at least not where he came from.

"Roy," came a voice from behind him. Turning around, he noticed his wife carefully smiling at him. "Woman," Grandpa Roy said as dignified as possible, "what in Sam Hill are you doin' out here? You're supposed to be inside lookin' after Ben. Heaven only knows what he's gettin' himself into."

Grandma Mavis smiled humbly as she wrapped her arm around her husband's waist. "That's what I love about you," she admitted as she lay her head on her husband's shoulder. "Ya never could harm somethin' that didn't deserve it."

Feeling completely forsaken by his own emotions, he rested his head against his wife's soft forehead to comfort himself. "What do ya suppose we do with 'er now?" he asked, staring at the creature as it let out a yawn. Grandma Mavis shrugged happily. "Dunno. Guessin' we just keep workin' on gettin' by like we always do," she smiled. "All's I know is we gotta think of somethin' to call her. We can't keep callin' her 'it' an' 'critter' anymore. A name'll make her feel like one of the family."

Grandpa Roy smiled coyly at his wife. "Why don't we call 'er Bess, after the cow that got out this mornin'," he suggested, smiling in a genuine, teasing smile. Grandma Mavis couldn't help laughing. "That's the craziest idea I ever heard," she chuckled. "What gives you the notion to name her after a cow?" "Simple," he explained as he let go of his wife to retrieve the cub. "The stork went to deliver the little darlin' to a bear, an' the silly little fella got all confused in the dust storm an' left her with a cow instead. You know how them birds fly themselves all backward when it's stormin' dust. The cow didn' know what to do with 'er, so we took 'er instead. Whatcha think of that lil' Bess?"

Grandpa Roy held up the cub, who laughed enthusiastically at the cute little story. "You like that than Bess? Named after a scared ol' cow," he said as he held it close. Grandma Mavis joined in on the hugs. "It's perfect," she said. "Now why don't we go in an' tell Ben the news. He'll be awful shocked to see he got his little sister earlier than he thought."

*****

The little blue cub liked the Mulcahey's very much and didn't think they were bad. Freckles could sense this, but she was still afraid of loosing her adopted child.

The family tried all afternoon to coax Freckles out of the doghouse with the cub, but the dog wouldn't budge. She stood at the door of her doghouse growling, bearing her teeth threateningly and barking fiercely if the children got too close. The cub would sometimes try to sneak around her mother, but Freckles always caught her in the act and put her back in the doghouse.

Though Mrs. Mulcahey wanted to see Freckles behaving better, she knew her children shouldn't be heckling her. Besides, it was starting to look like it would start raining, and it would be dinner time soon.

Freckles was relieved to see the children go inside, but the cub felt just the opposite. Freckles tried to calm the cub down, but she continued on persistently. She felt angry that her mother wouldn't let her make friends with the nice people, and she was wondering if she should really be trusting her mother's judgment.

As the cub slowly calmed down due to exhaustion, the sky began to drip with rain. A gentle clap of thunder reverberated through the air. The little cub was afraid of the thunder, but was so tired from crying that all she could do was whimper between hiccups. Freckles snuggled close to the little cub to comfort it, but the cub turned away from her as best she could in the small space.

The thunderstorm flashed bright, brilliant bolts of thunder as it inched its way closer. Thunder boomed louder as the storm intensified overhead. As tired as the cub was, she still had the energy to whimper in terror. In spite of being angry at her mother, she held onto her in fear of the storm.

Thanks to all the rain that fell during the spring and summer, the ground was overly saturated with water. It barely took in any of the rainwater, and the sauers were all backed up. With no where to go, the rainwater went wherever it could resulting in another flash flood.

It was starting to rain hard, and the water flowed into the doghouse. The cub panicked as the water rushed in. It reminded her of the way the water rushed into her old cave and of the night her parents died. She wailed as she climbed onto her mother's back, trying once again to stay dry.

Watching from the kitchen window, Mrs. Mulcahey could see her dog struggling with the cub and the inch deep water that was rushing to the creek at the end of their property. She didn't like watching the two creatures suffer when she knew there was something she could do about it. If only Freckles would let her do something.

Taking a chance, Mrs. Mulcahey opened the back door. "Here Freckles," she called out over the sound of the rain. "Here, girl. It's warm and dry in here."

Freckles stared at her master doubtfully. She also stared at the warm interior behind Mrs. Mulcahey, knowing that she and her puppy/bear would be much more comfortable inside. She thought that perhaps she might even be able to get them something to eat in there. The very thought of food made the dog's stomach rumble.

A loud clap of thunder startled Freckles back to reality. Both she and Mrs. Mulcahey jumped at the sound of it, and the cub screamed and cried. She had climbed onto Freckles back and had her arms wrapped around Freckles neck. The squeeze of the cub's hold was beginning to choke her.

She knew it would be a risk, but going inside was her best option. She gently walked out into the pouring rain, getting drenched instantly. Cautiously, she walked through the back door, rushing past Mrs. Mulcahey.

Francis and Katherine were thrilled to see their dog inside accompanied by the little cub. They quickly grabbed towels for the two animals to help dry them off. Freckles was hesitant to let the children dry the cub off with the towel, but it felt good to let the children rub the water out of her fur with the towel. She kept an eye on their activities, growling softly if she thought they were doing something wrong.

Once the two were toweled off, the children ran into the kitchen for dinner. Mrs. Mulcahey had the evening meal ready, but she set aside a portion just for Freckles and the little cub. She set two full dishes of chicken, potatoes, and cooked celery on the floor for them to eat. Once they were settled and eating, the family sat down at the table for their evening meal.

With the mealtime prayer out of the way, the family happily ate together. They smiled as they watched the dog and bear cub happily eat together, talking all the while about what they would do. Katherine laughed a bit as Freckles licked food from the end of her nose. "Look how happy they are together," she smiled. "We don't have to get rid of the bear cub, do we?"

Francis thought about the question. "I don't see why we should," he said. "I haven't seen Freckles look this happy since her puppies were born, and you all saw how sad she's been since we had to sell them. We just can't get rid of the cub, mom. She's so happy."

Mrs. Mulcahey looked longingly at the two happy animals sitting on the floor with food all over their faces. She saw that Freckles loved this little creature by the tender way she licked gravy off of its face. The cub seemed to love her right back by the way she snuggled into he dog, cooing away as she hugged the dog. "Well," she said, watching the two, "we'll have to tighten our budget some more if we want to keep her around. Can you kids think of any ways to tighten the budget?"

The budget was already tight enough as it was, so if they were going to keep the cub, they'd all have to make some sacrifices. She figured that if they were going to decide on this as a family, they would have to go about this as a family.

The children thought hard about what they could sacrifice. Katherine thought about her wants and which of those she could give up. "I guess we could give up our allowances," she suggested, despite the fact she wanted to save up for a new dress for her doll. Francis shook his head. "Why don't we just cut it down some," he suggested. "Within a few weeks, you'll want to spend your allowance, and you'll be upset if you don't have anything." Katherine thought about what her brother said for a moment. "Yeah, you're right," she agreed. "How much should we cut?"

They were off to a good start. After discussing their options, they worked on a budget. They wrote out their expenses and figured out what they needed, what they wanted, and what they could cut out. Freckles noticed the activity, and set her head on the table to look at what they were doing. Mrs. Mulcahey scratched the dog behind the ear in a reassuring way. "It's looking good," she said to the dog. "We just might have to think of a name for your little one soon."

The children's ears perked up at the thought of naming the cub. They each threw out name ideas, which Mrs. Mulcahey wrote down. After several suggestions, they fell on the name of Bluebelle, getting the idea due to the cub's blue fur. "What do you think, Freckles?" Mrs. Mulcahey said, addressing the dog. She was surprised to hear Freckles bark something of a reply.

It took Freckles the rest of the night to get comfortable with the family handling Bluebelle. To better help with the feelings of mistrust, Mrs. Mulcahey offered Freckles the spare guest bedroom for her and Bluebelle to live in. She figured that this would help build Freckles trust as well as offer a more comfortable place to stay.

Before the night was through, Bluebelle was dressed up in one of Katherine's under shirts and a cloth diaper. The sight of clothes on the cub helped make Freckles more comfortable. She figured that clothes were a permanent thing, which made her wag her tail with delight.

At bedtime, Freckles jumped up comfortably onto the guest bed. She let Mrs. Mulcahey carry Bluebelle into the bedroom to join her for bed, the kids following behind her. "Well, this has been eventful," Mrs. Mulcahey said as she lay the little cub down next to Freckles. "You should be very comfortable here." Mrs. Mulcahey was pleasantly surprised when the little cub grabbed her hand. "Mookee," she said, tugging on Mrs. Mulcahey's hand enthusiastically. "Mamoomookee!"

Everyone crowded around the cub, even Freckles. "She's talking!" Katherine exclaimed. "Just like my one doll I got from grandma! Can you believe it?" Francis pat the little bear on the back. "Well how about that," he said. "You're just full of surprises."

The children slowly ushered themselves out of the bedroom to put on their pajamas and let the animals sleep. Mrs. Mulcahey gently wrapped a thin blanket around the two. She was so happy to see them looking comfortable, especially after Freckles had been in such a funk the past few weeks. "Welcome back, Freckles," she said, giving the dog a kiss on the forehead. Gently, she turned to the little cub laying next to the dog and kissed her on the forehead. "Welcome home, Bluebelle."

Works Sited

Most important to me is giving credit to whom it belongs.

Father Mulcahey is my favorite character from the very popular television show M*A*S*H. His sister Katherine, also known as Sister Angelica, is only mentioned in the show, mostly through the mail. (Those letters were nicknamed 'nun-o-grams" rather than telegrams. ^_^) M*A*S*H is loosely based on a real Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (the 8055th) in Uijongbu, South Korea that was stationed three miles from the front lines of battle during the Korean war, 1950-1953. M*A*S*H also happens to be my all time favorite television show, although that doesn't keep me from loving the Care Bears!

Although M*A*S*H was very successful, all good things must come to an end. After an impressive 11 season run, M*A*S*H concluded. Some of the actors in the show did not like seeing the show end and were able to persuade the directors to create a spin off show that came to be called After M*A*S*H. After M*A*S*H was not nearly as successful as it's predecessor and was canceled during it's second season.

The Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins are property of American Greetings and Nelvana, as you all know.

I got the name "Bluebelle" from my mother. That's what she called her first car.

I got the name "Bess" from a cow. Best I could come up with considering the bear's surroundings.

The name "Dorkin Circus" comes from a movie called Gorgo, which was ripped to shreds hilariously by Mystery Science Theater 3000. I got a mild giggle out of people dorkin round in the dust bowl, so yeah... my humor... and MST3K.

Grandma Mavis sang the following songs to baby Bess: "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" is generally considered to have been written by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics), although some claims have been made[1] that in fact the music was by Fats Waller and the lyrics by Andy Razaf. "My Blue Heaven" was written by Walter Donaldson, the lyrics by George Whiting.

Most of my research on the dust bowl can be learned here:

.org/farminginthe30s/water_

I would like to thank my friends for all their help with getting this story off the ground: Amber (Take Care Bear) for being the first one to hear about my fan fic idea, and for Wilson Kieran Kitsune for proofreading and listening to my ideas. Thank you all for your suggestions in the story. It would not be what it is if it hadn't been for you!

Also, to anyone who reads this long fan fic, thank you very much! After all, if it wasn't for you readers, there would be no point in writing. Now give your weary eyes a break! THANKS!


End file.
